If everyone else is doing it, that makes it okay, right? A resident and business owner in Oakland, California, would have to disagree with that statement as they deal with locals illegally dumping heaps of garbage right beside their property on a weekly basis. It’s a cycle of madness: people carelessly throw their trash into a massive mound, the homeless set the pile on fire, the fire department comes in and puts it out, and then city dump trucks finally come and remove the trash, only for the cycle to repeat.
“How do I get Union Pacific to do something about this constant illegal dumping on their property?” the California business owner asks, annoyed by the irresponsible locals. While one could argue that at least the trash is not directly on their business’s property, they explain they’re worried about their building catching on fire or suffering a rat infestation because of this. Not to mention, “vital city resources are being used for this dumb sh**,” they grumble. The top commenter of the business person’s post thinks that it’s “strange that the city doesn’t send the bill of these services to them,” “them” being Union Pacific.
Several Reddit users think that Union Pacific is paying the city to deal with the trash mounds on its land. Just, “It’s probably cheaper/easier for them to just pay the bill instead of putting up a fence and hiring a guard.” If the spot was a public area, the people illegally throwing away their trash would likely be fined to hell and back. However, since the land is private property, they can get away with it — as long as Union Pacific does nothing to stop them, that is. All the business owner wants is for the railroad company to somehow deter people from illegal dumping, like with a fence, concrete wall, or warning sign. “Based on what I’m seeing we are in a lawless world,” a person commented.
One person had the bright idea of contacting the advertisers of the billboards near the garbage mounds to report how the signs might get damaged from the fires the homeless start. Whatever the case, it’s a tough nut to crack for sure: people doing what they want because of no repercussions and a massive entity like Union Pacific that could care less.
